Takeaways from Florida Gators Baseball's Series Sweep Over Kennesaw State

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The 12th-ranked Florida Gators baseball program moved to 7-1 on the season after a three-game weekend sweep of Kennesaw State.

The Gators won Friday's opener with a 9-3 victory before clinching the series on Saturday with an 11-0 run-rule win in seven innings. On Sunday, Florida clinched the sweep, erasing a 3-0 deficit in the first inning and holding on after a four-run ninth inning by the Owls to take home a 12-9 victory.

"Today was obviously not typical of how we've been playing. So, it's hard to be too critical of our team at this point," head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said after Sunday's win. "(Saturday) was one of the cleanest games we played all year long. So, we're going to have to get better like everybody else.

"... Good teams figure out a way to win even when you don't play as well as you should, and that was, obviously, a good example of what (Sunday) was like."

With that said, here are three takeaways from the series.

Gators' 1-2 Pitching Punch Dominates

Liam Peterson needed a major bounce-back on Friday after a rough outing last week. He got that and then some. The junior righty struck out 11 batters in 5 1/3 innings, only allowing one hit and two walks with no earned runs.

"Felt good," he said. "... I knew (last week) wasn't good, but I knew that it's just one outing. If i have a terrible outing to start the year, then I'd rather that than the end of the year."

LP fans the side 🥱

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— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 21, 2026

Meanwhile, sophomore Aidan King continued his usual dominance on Saturday, having another six-inning appearance with no runs. He struck out five batters with no walks.

"Typical Aidan King outing," O'Sullivan said. "... Played really good defense, but it's easy to do that behind Aidan. It just gives you a lot of comfort when you're watching him, not just from the dugout but from the stands. You kind of know what you're going to get."

The two's performances were what many expected going into the season as two of the top prospects in their individual draft classes.

The Slater Effect

Taking over Florida's hitting efforts, associate head coach Tom Slater is already making a tremendous impact in his return to the program. Across the series win over the Owls, Florida had 35 hits as a team, headlined by a 16-hit outing on Saturday.

TWO-homer game for SUROWIEC! 💣

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While the hits have been plentiful, O'Sullivan has been quick to note that the at-bats as a team have, overall, been better. The Gators drew 17 walks in the series, while a combined eight sacrifice fly outs and groundouts led to seven runs in the series.

"What Slate's came in and done for us is stuff I can sit here and talk and talk all day about," outfielder Kyle Jones said. "Whether it's the numbers side of things, whether it's your swing... Not many programs get access to (Slater's pro experience). Having him here, everything that he's done is unbelievable."

Barberi, Sandford Headline Relief Efforts

Florida's revamped bullpen was headlined by Jackson Barberi and Schuyler Sandford over the weekend, with Barberi, battling an illness, going for 2 1/3 innings on Sunday with only two hits and no earned runs and Sandford going for two innings with two strikeouts and only one earned run while pitching in both Saturday's and Sunday's wins.

"I thought he had really outstanding stuff," O'Sullivan said on Saturday of Sandford's performance. "... He's going to be such a valuable piece for us moving forward."

Barberi, meanwhile, helped shut down Kennesaw State after a three-run first inning and two-run fifth inning on Sunday. Despite being sick leading up to the series and pitching earlier than he anticipated, he had an immediate impact by striking out his first batter with the bases loaded and two outs before two more innings of no-run baseball.

He added two more strikeouts in the seventh to end the inning despite two runners in scoring position.

"I was ready to go if needed because I knew there was a possibility I was going to throw," Barberi said. "I didn't have it being on Sunday in the fifth inning, but, I mean, it's baseball. Things happen. Whatever the situation calls for, I was ready to go."

Barbs strands two 🥱

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— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 22, 2026

Barberi's and Sandford's efforts were also especially crucial considering Luke McNeillie and Russell Sandefer continue to miss time due to injury. O'Sullivan said he hopes both will be available for next week's series at Miami.

“Hate to say it, but you're probably gonna see five or so pitchers in each game (against FIU)," he said. "So we'll mix and match and and then obviously, hopefully have everybody back for Miami.”